Obama and the Democrats’ latest attack on our military are sickening. Obama is proposing a 1-percent across-the-board cut for all US military pay. He also wants to slash military benefits for medical care and to increase costs for families through a proposal to raise prices at military commissaries.

To see just how cold-hearted and unthinking Obama and the Democrats are to be proposing military cuts right now, we decided to compare the life of José, an illegal alien drug runner, with the life of John, a decorated combat veteran. While these two names are fictional, the events recited actually happen, regrettably, day-after-day:

The Life of José

Upon successfully navigating our porous southern border with 35 pounds of methamphetamine strapped to his body with duct tape, José makes his way to your city.

José is immediately granted a driver's license, even though he flunked the test. This license allows him to sign up for an Individual Taxpayer ID Number (ITIN) and file for tax refunds.

José applies for and receives a low-skilled job, for which he is paid cash under-the-table. This deprives one local American of an available job. José will park on this job for years.

José applies for and receives housing assistance, energy assistance, food stamps, WIC, Medicare prescription drugs, unemployment and other benefits, because he has a driver's license and no official "job" as far as government agencies are concerned.

Even though José is a childless 23-year-old, at the end of the year he applies for Child Tax Credits for his 10 nieces and nephews in Mexico. He receives a $10,000 refund from the federal government.

José is eligible for more than $50,000 in benefits from the American taxpayer each year, which allows him to buy a new sports car so he can blast your eardrums out on the street with his favorite mariachi rap music.

The Life of John

John is a decorated combat vet who served two tours of duty in Iraq and two in Afghanistan with his unit.

He was fired from his job after 15 years of service because he once whispered, in a private conversation, that he believes in traditional marriage between one man and one woman.

While trying to adjust to civilian life, John is declared 'mentally incompetent' by one of Obama's VA case workers, which allows the federal government to seize all John's privately owned firearms.

John is unable to find a job in the disastrous Obama economy. Even the low-skilled jobs are taken by the hordes of illegal aliens brought here by Obama's policies (see José).

John ends up homeless.

His wife of 24 years divorces him and obtains custody over their three children.

When a social worker manages to track him down on the park bench where he now sleeps, John is informed that his benefits are being cut even further by Obama and the Democrats.

Now homeless, unemployed, living in poverty without family support, not eligible for hospital care since Obamacare has been enacted, John is considering ending it all, ending the tragedy that has become his life.

Obama is kicking military members and veterans to the curb once again while handing sacks of cash to every illegal alien that steals his or her way into the country. How is it possible that we treat our veterans this way in America?

This is a massive-scale theft from the American taxpayers. Once again, Obama shows his absolute contempt for the American men and women in uniform. He demoralizes and degrades the troops while rewarding and pandering to lawbreakers. Obama is paying off the illegal aliens and doing it by cutting pay and benefits for the military and veterans and this has to stop.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) summed this problem up brilliantly. She pointed out that Congress could balance their checkbook, pay our military and veterans and even extend unemployment benefits, if they would just cut off the spigot of public money that's going to illegal aliens.

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Charles Benninghoff's experience with conservatism spans decades and began with frontline chronicling of the Young Americans for Freedom during the hectic culture clashes of 1970's that continue even today. E-mail Charles.